Upper St. Clair swimmer doubles up on gold
Four years ago, Ganesh Sivaramakrishnan finished dead last in the 100-yard backstroke. Today, the Upper St. Clair senior is at the top of the mountain.
Sivaramakrishnan won the event in 48.51 during the WPIAL finals held March 3-4 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Trees Pool. He is now seeded first in the PIAA championship meet being held March 16-19 at Kinney Natatorium on the Bucknell University campus in Lewisburg.
“As a freshman, I barely made it to WPIALs and I remember watching my teammate (Jack Fitzpatrick) win the backstroke. I said then that I wanted to do that some day,” Sivaramakrishnan said.
“That’s the thing swimming has taught me — to never give up,” he continued. “Even if you are at the bottom there is some way to do the impossible and make it to the top.”
Sivaramakrishnan did not only climb the ladder in the backstroke. He has soared to the top in the 100-yard butterfly. His time of 48.74 earned him a second WPIAL title. It also has him seeded first for the state meet, 0.23 ahead of Patrick Gilhool from Liberty.
“Patrick will put up strong competition,” Sivaramakrishnan predicted. “There is going to be a lot of competition and a lot of fast people coming to states so you have to be prepared mentally and physically. I’m going to try my best.”
Sivaramakrishnan’s best was good enough to topple his teammates and his friends during the WPIAL championships.
In both the fly and the back, Dom Cortopassi from Bethel Park finished runner-up to Sivaramakrishnan. Cortopassi posted a 48.74 time in the fly and 50.39 mark in the back.
“Dom and I have had a lot of great races. We might be rivals but we are good friends,” said Sivaramakrishnan, who resided in Bethel Park until fifth grade. “He gave me good competition and he will continue to do so at states.”
Mt. Lebanon’s Andrei Tudorascu took third in the fly while USC’s Ethan Neal took eighth. Andrew White and Neal took sixth and ninth, respectively, in the back.
“I was pretty nervous (at WPIALs) but pretty happy with the results,” Sivaramakrishnan said. “I know I still have a long way to go. While I felt relieved after my races were over, I knew I had more to give in both events. I’m looking forward to states and correcting some of the mistakes I made.”
At the WPIAL meet, Sivaramakrishnan helped the Panthers medal in the freestyle relays as well as finish runner-up to Seneca Valley in the team standings. The Raiders claimed the Class AAA troops with a 293.5 score. USC took second with 236 points. Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon finished in the Top 10.
Sivaramakrishnan anchored the fourth-place 400 free team of White, Neal and Matey Zoukovski. He swam the second leg in the 200 free. Sivaramakrishnan and White combined with Daniel Wang and Ryan Senchyshak for the silver medal. Their time of 1:24.58 was a scant .23 off the winning pace set by Seneca Valley.
“I am really happy that I was able to contribute points for my team,” Sivaramakrishnan said. “Winning WPIALs was a highlight my junior year but the major high point was this year winning the runner-up trophy because it wasn’t just me that did my part. Every senior and every person on this team contributed.
In addition to the aforementioned performers, USC took third in the medley relay with Wang, Neal, Senchyshak and Will Perham. Individually, White added fifths in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle races, Senchyshak took third and fifth in the 50 and 100 free, and Wang was seventh in the 50 free.
“I feel like our team has more to give. Our team has a good shot to do well as states,” Sivaramakrishnan continued. “I feel like we have strong enough team. When we get behind each other and cheer each other on, we can achieve gold medals at states.”
Sivaramakrishnan is an experienced PIAA competitor. He took thirds in his signature races in last year’s state finals. He also raced against district and state champion, David Bocci. The Butler product swims for Clarion University now.
Sivaramakrishnan says swimming in last year’s state meet and against top-rate competition has helped him tremendously.
“It really gave me insight into what it takes to become a champion,” he said. “I wasn’t there last year but I have been able to step up, take my chance and move it forward this year.”
Next fall, Sivaramakrishnan steps up his game at George Washington University. He will swim for the Colonials while pursuing a pre-med tract academically. Sivaramakrishnan plans to become a cardiothoracic surgeon.
“Many family members have passed away from heart attacks and strokes and I just felt hopeless to watch. I feel like this will be my way to give back and help save some people’s lives,” Sivaramakrishnan said.
“GW is giving me a great opportunity because this is the best of both worlds. The academics there are one of the best nation and anxious to become a part of a team where the atmosphere and the teammates are awesome. That bond would be perfect for me.
“I hope to become a part of a team where I can become someone that people look up to in the near future. I hope to help them win conference championships over and over again. I hope to become a captain by my senior year and make a name for myself.”
Age 17
Birthday June 18
Parents: Bhagwati Subramaniam and Sivaramakrishnan Chandrasekaran
School: Upper St. Clair
Grade: Senior
GPA: 3.8
College choice: George Washington
Major: Pre-med
Color: Blue
Food: Pasta
Restaurant: Olive Garden
Movie: Star Wars “I love the entire series.”
Dream destination: Japan. “Especially Tokyo. I’ve always wanted to in the heart of their city. Everything moves very fast there.”
Person you would like to have dinner with: My parents.
In 20 years, I will be: Living in D.C. and practicing medicine as a cardiothoracic surgeon.
While Dom Cortopassi collected silver medals in the 100-yard butterfly and backstroke races, he and others helped Bethel Park finish in the Top 5 of the Class AAA team standings during the WPIAL swimming championships.
The Black Hawks accumulated 164 points for a fifth-place finish.
Seneca Valley won the title with a 333.5 score while Upper St. Clair was the runner-up with 266 points. North Allegheny (241) and Fox Chapel (174) finished third and fourth.
Individually for the Black Hawks, Lenny DeMartino took third and sixth in the 200 and 500 freestyle races while Nathan Stutzman finished ninth in the 100 free as well as 10th in the 50 free.
In relay action: Cortopassi, Luke Myers, Eammon Anderson and Stutzman took ninth in the medley; Stutzman, Anderson, Luke Kallaur and DeMartino were sixth in the 200 free; and DeMartino, Trent Powell, Anderson and Cortopassi closed out the meet with third in the 400 free.
Mt. Lebanon finished eighth in the team standings with 127 points.
Other top individual finishers for Lebo included: Andrei Tudorascu, third (fly); William Stilley, ninth (200 free) and Connor Frank, ninth (50 free).
In relay action: Stilley and Frank combined with Chase Dustevich and Tudorascu for seventh in the 200 while Stilley, Frank and Tudorascu teamed with Jacob Burton for sixth in the 400.